A high school student in Laguna Beach, California, was suspended after an altercation over a MAGA hat he wore to honor Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated earlier this month, as reported [1] by The Gateway Pundit.
Zach Hornstein, a student at Laguna Beach High School, wore the hat on Thursday, one day after Kirk was killed while speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Hornstein told Fox 11 that his decision to wear the hat was intended as a tribute.
Zach Hornstein, a Laguna Beach High School student wearing a MAGA hat to honor Charlie Kirk, has been suspended after getting into an argument at school. https://t.co/ebxNVJcaAd [2]
— KTVU (@KTVU) September 18, 2025 [3]
According to Hornstein, a female student confronted him, grabbed the hat, and threw it in the trash inside a girls’ restroom while using profanities against former President Donald Trump.
In response, Hornstein said he jokingly told a group of girls that if they didn’t like America, they could leave.
“I made a joke towards them and said, ‘If you don’t like it here, Canada’s open borders, feel free to go,’” Hornstein said.
Hornstein claims a teacher later misrepresented his remarks, telling administrators he had told the girls to “go back to where they came from.”
He denies ever making that statement. “They’re saying I told a group of girls to go back to where they came from, which I never said that,” Hornstein told Fox 11. “When they called in the girl that was involved, she literally told them that I never said that.”
Despite this, Hornstein was suspended. His mother, Janet Semenova, said her son was unfairly punished for expressing conservative views. “I think it’s a double standard,” she told Fox 11.
“I think kids who have certain political beliefs are held to a different standard than kids who have other political beliefs.”
Laguna Beach, located in Orange County, is known for leaning more liberal than much of the surrounding region.
The case has since sparked debate over free expression and political bias in public schools, particularly after Kirk’s assassination placed national attention on political divisions.
School officials have not publicly commented on the details of the disciplinary action or whether the suspension might be reconsidered.
Hornstein’s case has drawn wider attention as part of ongoing concerns from parents and students who believe conservative viewpoints are being targeted in classrooms.